Approving payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) for warehouses has been a controversial issue facing the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, but that may change shortly.

The IDA board plans to modify its policy by prohibiting PILOT property tax breaks to warehouses moving forward.

“The era of warehouse giveaways in Orange County is officially over,” said State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall).

Brian Sanvidge, the state-appointed monitor overseeing the decisions of the IDA, supports the change, saying the board must look at what is best for the taxpayers of the county.

“Orange County sits in a transportation side where there are the highways in a very good location, so they are highly desirable locations for these projects, and therefore, do they need that level of a property tax exemption,” he said. “It raises questions.”

Skoufis, who opposes those incentives for warehouses, said the county “is overrun with warehouses in large part because the IDA has consistently robbed taxpayers on behalf of these projects.”

There is another change already in place – that any developers seeking IDA PILOTs, or pursing property tax reductions known as 485-B exemptions, must either pay prevailing wage for construction jobs or negotiate a project labor agreement to keep jobs local, union, and fairly paid.